Redemption
by Ashardalon125
Summary: A one-shot in the Beautiful Experiment universe, showcasing the effects of Damnation as it occurred in this continuity.


Author's Note: I did initially try to write a whole Damnation conversion, but it ended up being pretty much the same as the regular story, so decided I would instead do a one-shot reflection on the mission. This means that I can move into the plots after Damnation that much faster as well.

Situation Report

Leon stirred awake, sitting up groggily. Behind him, he could hear Manuela's breathing as she rolled in her sleep. For a moment, he watched her resting, glad to see she was getting some rest. The past couple of days had been very tiring.

Suppressing a groan, Leon stood up, silently exiting the bed. Walking over to the wardrobe, he did his best to ignore the soreness he felt. It would wear off soon enough, he reminded himself as he got dressed.

Walking over to the balcony, he stepped outside into the cool morning air. Before him, he could see the cityscape sprawl out before him. Not a bad place to resume vacation, even if it had been rather annoying to get back to. Still, he had to admit that a vacation spot like this would have been well outside his normal means.

Sitting down in one of the chairs, he continued to look at the horizon. Even in the short time they had spent in the Eastern Slav Republic, he doubted he would ever forget the architecture. Particularly the church. _I wonder if they'll fix it._

Leon wondered about a lot of things. Delicate diplomatic tensions now hung over the country, meaning he couldn't stick around to see how things turned out. It didn't help that he had basically suspended his citizenship for a bit, and dragged two of the country' greatest security risks into it with him.

Still, he was thankful that Manuela and Sherry had come with him. The mission had been hard, but they had his back, even when they were separated. Admittedly, he had been concerned when the rebels had told him Sherry had died during the rendezvous, but Manuela later confirmed that Sherry had basically been able to shrug off impalement pretty easily. The only signs she had been under a collapsing car park were the jokes she told.

They had truly helped him when they had reunited in the basement level of the capitol building. The additional firepower made fighting the Ivans a bit more tolerable, though they still had to retreat up the elevator shaft. The three of them had been prepared to make a final stand after killing the first one, but it had proved unnecessary.

That was another thing he wondered about, though he had his suspicions. The US seemed _very_ quick to react for a country that had pulled out. The deal with the Russians had also gone too smoothly, like it had been planned beforehand. Leon shook his head. It had to have been planned.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Leon turned slightly to see Manuela in the doorway, a sleeping gown covering her figure. Her smile was a gentle, but concerned one. "Sorry, did I wake you?"

"It's okay. Anyone else, and you would have been like a ghost," she explained, waving off his concern. "Come inside. You'll catch a cold."

Leon stood silently, stepping back into the small apartment. Manuela gently pecked him on the cheek before shutting the door. "So, what has you bearing the weight of the world this early?"

"Just seems too convenient that the US happens to show up just when they did," Leon explained, sitting down at the table in front of the TV. Manuela slid into the chair across from him, leaning forward, though she didn't say anything. He had always explained his thoughts to her, and she knew what he was thinking.

"Let's see what the news says," she offered, turning on the TV. Flicking through a few channels, she eventually found one in English. Just as it began to talk about the war, a buzzing distracted Leon's attention. Checking his pockets, he found it was his phone going off. _Hunnigan_.

Setting it on the table, Leon accepted the call. "Sorry to bother you both this morning, but I wanted to give you the situation report."

"Lay it on me," Leon said, leaning back in his chair.

"A temporary government headed by the US and Russia will be set up in the Eastern Slav Republic to maintain peace. Svetlana Belikova has resigned from her presidency, and all of the companies that supported her and the former government will be thrown out of the country and dismantled."

Leon paused for a moment, taking in the information. "Top brass knew about it right from the beginning, didn't they? The report from Scarecrow tipped them off that Svetlana was in possession of B.O.W.'s. That's why they pulled out and ran like hell to join forces with the Russians. To protect themselves, right?"

"You're mistaken," Hunnigan replied strongly. "The President had nothing to do with this. Not even we knew what was going on. You have to believe me."

Silence reigned for a moment as neither of them responded. "Leon! Don't-"

"I'm not going anywhere," Leon interrupted flatly, before reaching over and picking the phone up. "In the end, nothing's really changed."

Clicking the phone off, he set it back down. Standing, he looked at the TV for a moment before turning to Manuela. "We should get ready. I imagine Sherry will want to eat soon. All that healing has to be hard on her stomach."

* * *

On the flight home, Leon's mind still remained in the Slav Republic. There were so many loose ends.

Luckily, he had managed to get one thing before he left; an address for Buddy. While he had not been able to see the man personally before leaving, he wanted to be able to talk to him as he recovered. After all, there were very few people in the world who understood what it was like to be infected with the Plaga and survive.

He had been happy to learn that Buddy had survived the bullet shot. Even as he had done it, he was not completely sure if the man would survive it. Either way, he would be free of the parasite's influence. According to the doctors, he would survive, and retain the use of his arms.

According to the doctors, he was planning on returning to being a school teacher when he recovered. Leon smiled slightly at the thought; he would get to return to what he loved.

Not everything had been wrapped up neatly though. Svetlana had been deposed, yes, but she had gotten away relatively unhindered. The UN had brought her in for violation of international law, but no traces could be found of her suppliers. In addition, her sentence had been lightened for working with the UN in order to try and dig up leads, and Leon had no doubt she was sitting in a cushy political prison at the moment.

He had threatened her at gunpoint, but he didn't think he would have shot her. In all actuality, he wasn't sure how he would have punished her for her crimes. He would have preferred they hadn't happened in the first place. The death tolls were still coming in, but he didn't need to see them to know it would go up with Raccoon City and Terragrigia as one of the worst biological attacks of all time.

The thought of that massive lab also haunted him. It reminded him of the ones in Raccoon City, and that was never good. They had managed to harvest and culture Dominant Strain Plaga, something never done outside Los Illuminados. Even now, years after the event, the nature of the attacks was changing.

All they could do was try and keep up with the threats that came at them.

"Man, I can't wait to get home!" Sherry's voice broke into his thoughts, and he saw the younger girl stretching as she walked passed him. "I mean, a war zone's exciting and all, but I'm ready for a nice long nap."

"Tell me about it," Leon agreed with a small laugh. "How you feeling?"

"Well, significantly less full of holes than before, which is a good thing," Sherry noted with a smile. "Seriously though, next time we do a rendezvous, can we not do it in a place where the ceiling can collapse?"

"I'll see what we can do," he replied, amused. "You seem in a good mood."

"The mission was successful," Sherry explained with a shrug. "I count that as reason to be happy. Svetlana's not in power any more and Buddy gets to go back to teaching."

Leon smiled, nodding in agreement. She had a point, he had to admit. It was easy to get caught up in the negative view, and think of all the things that could have gone better, all while forgetting the good they had accomplished.

"Get some rest. You deserve it." Sherry sighed, but nodded, settling into one of the seats. Leon stood up, walking to the front of the plane, where Manuela was sat with her computer, probably composing a report. "That was an interesting mission."

"Definitely," Manuela agreed, glancing over the top of the screen at him. "I certainly did not expect to see Ada there."

"Neither was I. We still have no idea what she was up to while she was there, but the BSAA's looking into it."

"I wonder if she knew you would be there," Manuela pondered suspiciously.

"She seemed just as confused as I did."

"Oh, when was this?" she asked, a slight teasing tone in her voice.

"When I went to find Buddy and stop him from using the Plaga, we had a bit of a run-in. Long story short, I graciously declined her offer for a rendezvous."

"You better have," Manuela said with faux anger, gently laying her hand in Leon's. "Still, she did help us down in the lab, for whatever reason."

"I will never pretend to understand women," Leon retorted, earning him a playful slap on his arm. "I'll let you get back to your report."

"Get some rest," she commanded. "I won't be long."

Leon nodded, walking over to one of the chairs. Sitting down, he allowed himself to relax a little. The sound of typing over the engines was almost hypnotic, and he felt himself fading quickly.

* * *

It was a few weeks later when Leon got his response. The letter was brought to him as soon as it came in, but he had waited to open it until everyone was around. It was from Buddy.

It was less of a letter, and more of a postcard. The front side displayed Buddy in a wheelchair, children flanking him on either side, smiling for the camera. Leon guessed they were probably elementary schoolers by the looks of it. Looking closely, he could even see the flask he had given Buddy hanging from the handle of his chair.

 _It has been difficult following the war, but things are going well. It took a while to get the school back to its former state, which is why it took so long to write back. My class wanted to send a picture to you as a thank you for helping our country. I'm afraid the children's assignments keep me busy, so I will be brief, but I will write again soon._

 _-Regards_

 _Buddy_


End file.
